The work on 281 central government projects worth over Rs 150 crore was successfully completed by the Union government in the fiscal year 2023-24, compared to the 329 projects that were finished the year before, representing a little drop. All the same, according to government figures, this accomplishment was the second-highest completion rate in almost ten years.

On the other hand, the percentage of projects that were delayed increased slightly, from 41.2% to 41.6% in February for the month of March.

In addition, the percentage of cost overruns increased from 18.19 percent to 18.65 percent in the preceding month, marking a three-month high. The increase in costs was ascribed to the projected expenses of 1,873 projects, totaling Rs 31.9 lakh crore, which exceeded the initial projections by Rs 5 lakh crore.

779 projects were behind schedule as of the end of March, with 51% of them having been past due for longer than two years. This translates to an average delay of 36.04 months, or almost three years.

According to the government statement, three projects—two in the road sector and one in the telecom sector—were started in March alone, and 32 projects—seven in the road sector, 23 in the petroleum sector, and two in the power sector—were completed.

According to Economic Times, the publication highlighted a worrying pattern in which project agencies are neglecting to disclose updated cost estimates and commissioning schedules for several projects, which could result in underreported time and expense overruns.

According to a sectoral breakdown, the projects under monitoring by the relevant ministries saw the greatest cost overruns in Indian Railways and water resources, with projected costs surpassing initial projections by 54% and 197%, respectively.

Among the 249 railway projects under observation, more over half (149) experienced cost overruns; for water resources projects, the ratio was 9 out of 41. Furthermore, cost overruns occurred in almost one-fifth of road projects, which make up the majority of ongoing projects.

Approximately 40% of road projects and 109 out of 249 railway projects experienced delays due to time overruns, underscoring the difficulties in completing projects on schedule in these domains.